ESPN's Stephen A. Smith found himself in hot water Thursday morning after unleashing fiery rant about Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on "First Take."
Smith ripped into James for many things during his outburst, in which he addressed several issues he had with James' interview on the "Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday.
But where Smith got himself in a bit of trouble was when he falsely accused James of not attending the memorial service of late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant back in 2020, and he implied that James had shady motives for skipping the service.
"He should be happy with the things that I haven't brought up," Smith exclaimed. "I never brought up why you were not at Kobe Bryant's memorial service. I never really brought up a discussion about why you did not attend Dwyane Wade's Hall of Fame induction when that man was directly responsible for you capturing the championship for the first time in your career. I never brought none of that."
However, Smith's remarks were quickly debunked.
A video of Smith's comments were slapped with a community note on X, informing users that the accusations against James were untrue, and many fans started citing a Los Angeles Times report from 2020 that proved that James did, in fact, attend Bryant's memorial.
"Among the Lakers-related faces in the audience: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Phil Jackson, Jerry West, Rick Fox, and LeBron James," the report read.
Though Smith corrected himself later in Thursday's episode of "First Take," he also took to social media to apologize for falsely accusing James of something he didn't do.
"My apologies and clarification. I misspoke in Hour#1 of @FirstTake today when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant's memorial," Smith wrote. "I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance. My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It was not my main point. I retract NOTHING else that I said. Have a nice day!"
My apologies and clarification. I misspoke in Hour#1 of @FirstTake today when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant's memorial. I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance. My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 27, 2025
Bad blood has been brewing between Smith and James for months, and things came to a head following a March 6 game between the Lakers and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden when the two were involved in a heated confrontation about James' son Bronny.
Smith has made no apologies for being overly critical of Bronny since he was drafted last June, and James has made it known he's not a fan of Smith making things personal by taking shots at his family.
Related: Stephen A. Smith Sends Strong Message to Pat McAfee After LeBron James Interview
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This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 3:15 PM.
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